
Features
Best Songs Ever … 9.1.19
Photos from left to right – (Golden Dawn Arkestra; Brittany Howard; Chance the Rapper and Ben Gibbard)
KUTX Host Jay Trachtenberg spills the beans on the BEST SONGS EVER! At least for this week.
Golden Dawn Arkestra- “Mama Se”
First up is one of Austin’s favorite party bands, Golden Dawn Arkestra. They get their spiritual influence from the Sun Ra Arkestra, and their musical influences are all over the map. “Mama Se” borrows from Central African soukous, West African Afro-beat, and a twinge of psych rock thrown in for good measure.
Brittany Howard- “Stay High”
Up next is the powerful vocalist Brittany Howard. We know her for fronting the band Alabama Shakes, but she’s stepping out on her own with Jamie, her solo debut out September 20. Her sweet, soulful voice really shines on “Stay High,” and you can see her at ACL Fest in October.
Chance the Rapper- “Do You Remember” (ft. Death Cab for Cutie)
This last song is one we can all relate to with its bittersweet remembrances of childhood summers. Chance the Rapper and Death Cab For Cutie singer Benjamin Gibbard wax melancholic on this beautiful song about summers past called “Do You Remember.”

Features
Pop Up Sessions: Gauche
photo by Michael Minasi
Washington D.C.’s Gauche swung through to play some songs while on a nation-wide tour supporting their debut album out on Merge Records- The People’s History of Gauche. Featuring members from Downtown Boys and Priests, this D.C. collective’s groove-filled power punk rages against issues ranging from capitalism to dissecting the patriarchy all with an undercurrent of infectious danceability.

Features
Pop Up Sessions: Parallelephants
photo by Michael Minasi
Organically formed by fellow musicians when they were students at UTSA in 2013, Parallelephants create synth and soul-infused R&B grooves to dance or just chill out to. The aesthetic brainchild of producer and multi-instrumentalist Thom Sykes, Parallelephants’ soulful ballads and slow jams reference the heart of early funk and soul with a modern twist.

Features
Pop Up Sessions: Odessa
photo by Michael Minasi
Fresh off of a July residency with Jesse Woods at the Continental Club, Austin’s Odessa creates hypnotic tracks combining vocal harmonies and atmospheric indie-pop instrumentation reminiscent of the oceans she grew up by. Finding her voice for songwriting after playing the violin for most of her life, her songs evoke the sensibilities of fellow modern folk-pop artists Joseph and Lucius. Odessa played a few songs for us ahead of her upcoming second album release this fall produced by Jonathan Wilson and mixed by Brian Eno.

Features
Pop Up Sessions: Flora & Fawna
photo by Michael Minasi
Austin’s newly formed duo Flora & Fawna create slow-burning synth pop perfect for a humid Texas summer night. Fittingly they stopped by to play their first single release “Slow Burn” mixing woozy bedroom pop production with powerhouse vocals that they say is the ideal musical concoction for helping your plants grow.
Upcoming Shows: 9/12 at Stubb’s Indoors supporting Me Nd Adam. Doors at 8:00 p.m.